SMU announces 2013 football schedule

Season kicks off with ESPN-televised Friday night match-up with Texas Tech

March 6, 2013

DALLAS (SMU) - On the heels of its fourth straight bowl appearance, SMU has announced its 2013 football schedule.

The slate is highlighted by six games on the SMU campus, including a season-opening, Friday-night matchup against Texas Tech to be aired nationally on ESPN. Other 2013 visitors to Ford Stadium will be Montana State and new conference foes Rutgers, Temple, UConn and UCF.

After the SMU-Texas Tech game on Friday, Aug. 30, SMU will host its first Saturday game of the year when three-time reigning Big Sky Champions Montana State visits Ford on Sept. 7. After an off weekend, SMU will pay back-to-back visits to Texas A&M (Sept. 21) and TCU (Sept. 28), with the Mustangs and Frogs playing for The Iron Skillet.

SMU then opens play in its new conference on Oct. 5, when Rutgers comes to Dallas. After an Oct. 19 trip to Memphis, SMU will host Temple on Oct. 26 and then travel to the Queen City to face Cincinnati on Nov. 9.

The Nov. 16 game versus UConn game holds historical significance, as it is a rematch 1989's "Miracle On Mockingbird." When SMU returned to the football field in 1989, critics claimed that it was going to take a miracle for Forrest Gregg and the Mustangs to win a game. SMU started the season with a 35-6 loss to Southwest Conference rival Rice, and two weeks later, the Connecticut Huskies were in town to take on the Mustangs in just their second game since the end of the 1986 season. With five minutes to play in the game, it seemed that SMU was headed for certain defeat, as the Mustangs trailed 30-14. Some SMU fans decided that the game was out of reach and started to head home, but the Mustangs scored 17 points in the final five minutes to win the game, 31-30. That first victory that many predicted might take as many as five years to achieve took just two games and was quickly dubbed the "Miracle on Mockingbird."

After a trip to Tampa to tackle USF (Nov. 23) and a nationally-televised game at Houston on Friday, Nov. 29, SMU will close out the regular season by hosting UCF on Dec. 7.

The full schedule is available below. Other kickoff times and TV information will be announced at a later date. For Mustang ticket information, call the Athletics Department Ticket Office at (214) SMU-GAME (768-4263).

2013 SMU FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Friday, Aug. 30

Texas Tech (8 p.m., ESPN)

Saturday, Sept. 7

Montana State

Saturday, Sept. 21

at Texas A&M

Saturday, Sept. 28

at TCU

Saturday, Oct. 5

Rutgers *

Saturday, Oct. 19

at Memphis *

Saturday, Oct. 26

Temple *

Saturday, Nov. 9

at Cincinnati *

Saturday, Nov. 16

Connecticut *

Saturday, Nov. 23

at USF *

Friday, Nov. 29

at Houston * (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2)

Saturday, Dec. 7

UCF * (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2)

* Conference Game

SMU, the only Division I athletic program in Dallas, Texas, sponsors 17 sports and has been ranked as the top school in its conference for 11 of the last 15 years in the Director's Cup overall athletic rankings. More information about SMU and its coaches, student-athletes and teams is available at www.SMUMustangs.com.